Categories
webcams

Val every thing that you saw Bliss and Misty do…

Val, every thing that you saw Bliss and Misty do is what they have learnt in the breaking process. When they turn they are being controlled by the reins and the riders legs, by the gentle pulling of the rein to the left or right is the direction they go. Pulling evenly on the reins will make to Horse stop, well you hope it does. The most important part of breaking any Horse is to be gentle with the rein. When Horses are broken you use a very light bit. If you are hard or heavy with the reins the horse will need a stronger bit. Being hard will eventually make a Horse hard mouthed, they can then sometime be a problem to stop. All the time you let the horse know what it is doing with voice commands. Walk, walking, trot, trotting etc. I don’t know who is going to have the bigger problem when they go to France, the Horses or the French people who will be looking after them, as they will be spoken to in French. They have been extremely good being broken, a really enjoyable experience. Some Horses can be right pigs to break. A few can be very dangerous. I cant ride myself. I use to drive a pair of Horses, but I just don’t have the time now. I have got to speak to the French Trainer tonight to make all the arrangement for when Bliss and Misty go. Anything interesting I will let you know.

It has been quite cold and windy at Denbury, today. Fortunately we haven’t had a lot of rain, so we are managing to keep the Horse out, coming in early morning and late afternoon for their feeds. It is much better for the Horses to be out, as long as they are rugged up well to stop them getting wet if it rains and cold on frosty nights. Of course it does save us a lot of work with the mucking out, but we will not leave them out at night if it is cold and wet. That’s one job that I don’t like a lot. We muck out all of our stable every day.

Categories
webcams

Val every thing that you saw Bliss and Misty do…

Val, every thing that you saw Bliss and Misty do is what they have learnt in the breaking process. When they turn they are being controlled by the reins and the riders legs, by the gentle pulling of the rein to the left or right is the direction they go. Pulling evenly on the reins will make to Horse stop, well you hope it does. The most important part of breaking any Horse is to be gentle with the rein. When Horses are broken you use a very light bit. If you are hard or heavy with the reins the horse will need a stronger bit. Being hard will eventually make a Horse hard mouthed, they can then sometime be a problem to stop. All the time you let the horse know what it is doing with voice commands. Walk, walking, trot, trotting etc. I don’t know who is going to have the bigger problem when they go to France, the Horses or the French people who will be looking after them, as they will be spoken to in French. They have been extremely good being broken, a really enjoyable experience. Some Horses can be right pigs to break. A few can be very dangerous. I cant ride myself. I use to drive a pair of Horses, but I just don’t have the time now. I have got to speak to the French Trainer tonight to make all the arrangement for when Bliss and Misty go. Anything interesting I will let you know.

It has been quite cold and windy at Denbury, today. Fortunately we haven’t had a lot of rain, so we are managing to keep the Horse out, coming in early morning and late afternoon for their feeds. It is much better for the Horses to be out, as long as they are rugged up well to stop them getting wet if it rains and cold on frosty nights. Of course it does save us a lot of work with the mucking out, but we will not leave them out at night if it is cold and wet. That’s one job that I don’t like a lot. We muck out all of our stable every day.

Categories
webcams

I seemed to have had a few broadband problems today…

I seemed to have had a few broadband problems today. I lost my connection on one of my computers a few times and the webcams went down. They seem OK at the moment. Both SWT cameras have been off for a few days, I have phoned to try to see what the problem is, but unfortunately I have been unable to get an answer. In the Winter months the centre is closed. Peter the Manager does not go there every day. I am sure he will get the webcams going very soon.

Both Bliss and Misty were worked in the sand school today. I am sorry but I was so busy I forgot to turn the camera on, I will try to remember tomorrow, if they are worked. I didn’t see them work myself today, but I was told that they both did very well. Misty is sound now, her foot must be a lot better as there is no sign of her being lame.

Elaine, I missed the Deer the other evening, so I cant tell you what they were. I have only seen the Muntjac Deer once this year, and that was early in the Spring. This is the first year for a long time that I haven’t seen them all through the summer. I would regularly see them with a Fawn.

Elsie, I should think that most of the Ewes that are in the fenced area around the lake are in Lamb. I check them regularly to see if their udders are getting big. It look like Dolly and Minty could lamb before Christmas, but don’t hold your breath, as I have said many times before I am not a very good Sheppard. If any look as if the are going to lamb soon, I will put them in the stable that the lambs that went to Market on Saturday were in. The stable that they were in is in the same little block that we do the Foaling from, so the camera is already in place. My Lads will be mucking the stable out later this week. I thought that I may have got a phone call from the Auctioneer that were selling the Lambs, telling me that they had not sold. It wasn’t the Rare Breeds sale on Saturday as we thought, we missed read the paper, it was the previous week. The lambs were not the best that we have sold. On a Rare Breed sale there would have been no problem with them selling, but being it was a general sale I did wonder if they would sell, and I was expecting a call. What ever, the cheque that I get for them wont make me very rich. I shouldn’t think that I would get any more than a couple of pounds each for them.

ct, today I fitted a camera up in the barn that I thought that I had heard the Rat in last evening. I also put up an infra red lamp and I am watching the camera as I am typing. I should think that it is a Stoat or Weasel. If I see any animal in the barn I will put the camera on the website. I don’t know if Rats attack humans, when I see one or even think that I have heard a Rat, I don’t hang about to long for them to get the chance. I have heard like most of you, that if a Rat is cornered it will jump over what ever is cornering it, and that it has landed on what ever it was. I really cant see that, but who knows.

Categories
webcams

I hope that those who managed to see Bliss and…

I hope that those who managed to see Bliss and Misty on the webcams this morning, enjoyed seeing them working. A couple of you got their names the wrong way round. Bliss is the Bay (Brown) and is Lady’s Foal, Misty is the Dark Bay (Black) out of Woody. Bliss is going exceptionally well. In all intense and purpose she is broken. She will trot in the sand school on a lunge line on a voice command. She will be trotting under saddle within a couple of days. As you noticed I was walking with Misty, she has not worked for three days because of being lame, with her bad foot, and she would still be getting a little discomfort with her foot now, so it was important to give her confidence with me walking with her. Misty is a little behind Bliss in the progress of the breaking, but only because of her bad foot, but she will be going as well as Bliss within a couple of days. As you could see, both Fillies were happy working, even with the dogs running around and very close to them. It was also very windy in the sand school whilst we were working the Fillies, with a few bits and pieces flying around, that would have made even an experienced older Horse spook. Being broken as they have will be of benefit when they finish their racing careers. They can now quickly adjust to become good riding Horses. We are very pleased with them. They are on their way to France tomorrow week. They will be worked most days next week. I don’t know what times it will be, but as long as I remember I will turn the camera on, so that hopefully you may see them.

As I was entering the barn in the Farm Yard opposite the Farm House to get the Badger food this evening, something started to squeak very close to the door. Thinking that it was a Rat very close to me, I made a hasty retreat backwards, that being a quicker way of getting out of the barn, rather than me trying to turn around. Unfortunately I forgot that I had left the generator that I had used this morning, to get the camera working, to show you Bliss and Misty in the sand school. It tripped me over backwards, I was left laying flat on my back with my legs being supported about eighteen inched higher than my body by the generator. The noise and scream that I made should have frightened what ever was close to the door, but it didn’t, and I couldn’t get up as quickly as wanted to get away from the Rat, being in the position I was. Even after the noise I had made getting myself up, I could still here what ever was in the barn. By now I had realised that it could not have been a Rat, it would have been long gone with all the noise that I had made. What ever, I still had to get the Badger food. I tentatively made my way into the barn looking into the direction of the noise that was being made, by what ever creature it was that I heard squeaking. If it had been a Rat I could well have finished up on my back again. What ever it was it must have seen me before I had seen it and I heard it scampering away under the contents of the barn. I can only think that it is the Stoat or Weasel that I saw the outline of a few days ago in the barn doorway, and that it is living or nesting in the barn. I was going to get my Lads to start clearing the rubbish out of the barn tomorrow. Believe you me, it needs it. But I would much prefer a Stoat or Weasel to be living in the barn catching the Rats, than it being tidy. I will try to get a camera and infra red lamp in the barn within a couple of days. If I see any thing on my monitor, I will put it on the webcams.

Categories
webcams

We have friends here tonight so the Diary is very…

We have friends here tonight so the Diary is very short.

We got the camera going this afternoon to show you Bliss and Misty working tomorrow. The picture is not as good as I would like, as some of you may have seen this afternoon when we tried it out. The length of the cable is making it not as good as it should be, it should have been a lot shorter but I could not find any ends so that I could have made it shorter. It is over 600 metre long. I have also had to use a portable generator for the electricity. But you will see them working tomorrow.

Elaine, it was Bliss who was being ridden this afternoon, the white on her leg was a leg marking, called a sock.. The Farrier came this afternoon to sort Misty’s foot out. We had put a poultice on her foot last night, but it did not draw the poison out. The farrier found the problem within seconds, he dug in to her hoof and the puss poured out, giving her instant relief. She still limps on it, but in anticipation of pain, that she no longer has. She should be able to work tomorrow, but being that she will be working in the sand, we will have to put one of my old socks and a plastic bag on her foot to stop any sand getting into the wound.

Bliss and Misty will be working from about 10.15 am tomorrow, on CAM ONE only.

Categories
webcams

I went and got three decoy Ducks today to try…

I went and got three decoy Ducks today to try to make my own remote controlled model Duck, so that I can put a camera on it. I phoned some suppliers in the USA, but what they can supply me will still need me doing some work on to get it as I want. I will cut a hole in one of the decoys to see how much room there is inside it, so that I can decide what I will use to get it working. I have a friend coming to stay tomorrow who I believe knows a little about remote model. He will be captured.

Elsie, the Sheep are on their way tomorrow. The five that are going are already loaded in the Horse trailer so that we can get them to market early. By chance there is a Rare Breeds sale on tomorrow, with a bit of luck some one may want some Portlands. What ever I wont get very much money for them I am not sending any of the Sheep that are around the lake. Taunton Market is only about twenty minutes from Denbury. Unfortunately it is closing at the end of the month after many years. A new market is opening, but it is a good way from us. Taunton Market is in the centre of the Town and is sited on a large area of land. No doubt the land is earmarked for housing. If it is, Taunton will have a few problems accommodating all the extra people.

As long a nothing out of the ordinary happens, we will be showing Bliss working on Sunday, I am not to sure if we will be able to let you see Misty, we have not been able to do any work with her at all today, her foot is really giving her a lot of pain. I think that I have found out where the problem is, we have put a poultice on the foot tonight, it may draw the poison out overnight, if it doesn’t the Farrier is coming tomorrow afternoon and he will find the problem, if the poultice doesn’t work. Once the poison is drawn out, with a dressing on it, Misty will be able to work straight away. With a bit of luck you may see her. We will be showing the Horses from about 10.30am but it may be a little later. Because of the age of Bliss and Misty they cannot be ridden for more than fifteen minutes

Karen I come from the East End of London, Canning Town. The roughest, toughest area of the East End, but a great place. Not so good now. The London Dockland Development Corporation, redeveloped the area, for the better as far as the infrastructure, it really is fantastic. Linda my friend who died last week, got the Riding Centre through the development. But it brought in a different type of people in to the area, that changed the area in to a place that I did not want to live in any more. But it was a good excuse to pursue my life long ambition to have a Farm.

We have friends here tomorrow, so if there is a Diary it will be short. What ever I will remind you of Bliss and Misty. Check the Diary and Forum as I have just realised that it is Remembrance Sunday this week and we may work around that.

Categories
webcams

Sue I try to feed the Badgers earlier so that…

Sue, I try to feed the Badgers earlier so that I can see what I am doing. Although the Badgers Sett is very close to the Farm House, on both places that I put the food down I have to climb up a steep embankment to get to the feeding places. Getting to the main feeding place is quite steep and slippery, but the lower feeding place is a nightmare to get up to. To get to it I have to climb a very steep embankment a good thirty feet up. I have a rope to try to stop from slipping down, I also need it for pulling myself up the embankment, but even with the rope I have very often slipped from top to bottom on my backside. When it is wet or icy I don’t like climbing up, as for sure I am going to come down a lot quicker than I went up. This year I have got my Lads to cut out steps in the embankment to make it easier for me to climb up, but it still slippery when wet. That is why I feed the Badger in my working cloths, coming down the wrong way leaves me very muddy.

It has been very windy at Denbury today, it is still blowing a bit at the moment. The leaves are being blown off of the trees. The Badgers don’t like the wind. Normally when I feed them a few are waiting near the Sett entrance, and just out of site of the cameras a bit down the embankment where you can see them scratching themselves. When it is windy they only seem to come out after I have put the food out. I was back in the Farm House before any of them came out tonight.

The wind made Bliss and Misty hard to work with today. Both were on the toes all of the time that we were working with them. Couldn’t do to much with Misty, she is still quite lame and very uncomfortable on her foot. It is only just over a week before they are going to France, so Misty really does need to be working. All that we can do with her is to walk her on the Lunge line in the sand school. I have just phoned the Farrier to get him to take a look at her. I think that she may have bruised her sole of her foot on a stone. If the bruise is on the inside of the sole, you cant see any signs of it. It is very unusual for a good Farrier not to find out what the problem is if it is in the foot, which it looks like the way Misty is walking on it. Farriers are more likely to sort foot problems in Horses than Veterinaries. The apprenticeship of a Farrier, is or use to be seven years.

Elaine, It is mainly Bats that are flying in front of the camera. Now and then an Owl will fly across, and of course there are Moths. But I must admit at times I see object that I would not swear where Bats. I know a person who is well up on Butterflies and Moths, I will ask her about what may be Moths.

Categories
webcams

There has not a lot been happening on the Farm…

There has not a lot been happening on the Farm today. We lunged Bliss and Misty again. Bliss went exceptionally well, with some one walking by her side, she was going from halt to walk to trot and back again, all on voice commands. For the last few minute of the lungeing session she did it without any one by her side. Misty came in a little lame on her left hand rear leg this afternoon so we were unable to make her trot, but going from halt to walk and back, she was as good as Bliss in learning. Both a the easiest Horses that we have broken.

Both Bliss and Misty were ridden and lunged in the sand school today. It was quite windy, the first day it has been so since we started to break the Fillies. The rustling leaves, blowing branches and hedges, had both on their toes, with their ears pricked up and looking at everything. Misty we thought was going to give a few bucks when being ridden. She threatened, but it finished up as being a few backward jumping steps. One thing we have noticed today when lungeing the Fillies is that Bliss is right handed and Misty is left handed. Horses will go better on the leg they prefer. Some Trainers will also choose race courses, depending on what direction the course goes.

I don’t often watch Spring or Autumn watch. It is not that I don’t like wildlife programmes. These are the only ones I don’t watch very often. I get bored with the amount the talking that is done by the presenters, instead of showing wildlife, and I cant be done with the false laughing and silly antics that take up a large part of the programme. I did however catch a glimpse of the programme last night when the remote controlled model Ducks was on. They would be a good idea for the lake, to try to find out what is happening to the Duckling and Goslings. I have been looking on the Internet to try to find out where I can get one. I wont be able to get one with a camera installed, but I can easily do that myself. I don’t wont the bother of having to put an electric motor and all of the control mechanism into a decoy Duck. The decoys are easy to get. I have found a couple of sites in the USA that do remote controlled Ducks, they even do full size Geese, it would be easy with a wireless camera to get a good picture of the lake with a remote controlled model Duck or Goose that I could show on the website. It would need to be controlled from beside the lake, although it could also be left anywhere on the lake, without it moving, just to see what is happening in a particular area. What I do find strange is that the Moorhens do very well on the Lake. Most mornings you can see five Moorhen feeding where the Sheep are. I should reckon that they would have bred on the lake. I am waiting for a phone call from the USA. I may have some thing to tell you tomorrow.

Categories
webcams

We lunged Bliss and Misty in the sand school for…

We lunged Bliss and Misty in the sand school for the first time today. Horses are more often than not lunged before riding. Knowing Bliss and Misty it was important to ride them first. Lunging teaches horses to go in to different phases of walking, trotting, canter and halt on voice command. Lungeing also helps Horses to coordinate their weight and balance, it improves the Horses outline and strengthens their hind quarters. Lunging has many benefits for both experienced and unbroken inexperienced Horses. We are only using lungeing with Bliss and Misty to teach Bliss and Misty the voice commands of walking, trotting, canter and halt. It is then used when riding them, eventually the commands are made with the reins, knees and heels.

The equipment used for lungeing, is a caveson and lunge line. The caveson is a type of head collar that has padding to stop any chaffing of the Horse. Some people will use head collars to lunge with, but they tend to cut into the Horse skin, if the Horse tries to resist being lunged and pull away. You also need a lunge line of about twenty two metres long. Initially one person walks around in a circle of about twenty metres, another person stands in the middle of the circle at the end of the lunge line. Eventually the Horse will, we hope, walk at the end of the line in the twenty metre circle. Then it is a matter of keeping the Horse at the end of the line, making it go into a walk, trot, canter or halt, all the time giving voice commands to let the know what they are doing.Horses never understand the words, so you need to emphasise the sounds and words. Both Bliss and Misty both were very good on their first try. Both tried to walk towards the person holding the lunge line. Both also got excited and gave a number of bucks and darted towards the exit of the sand school. I am sure that they will get the hang of it in a couple of days.

We had two Barn Owl nest boxes put up in our large modern barn today, by the Barn Owl Trust. I think that I have told you before that we haven’t seen any Barn Owl since we have been living at Denbury. We have left a couple of areas of pasture without being grazed, to encourage a rough area that is good habitat for voles, the Barn Owls main food source. We also have an old barn that was built with holes in the ends to encourage Barn Owl. The two nesting boxes have been positioned on two opposite walls of the barn, hoping that any Owl that passes has an opportunity to see one of them. There must be Barn Owls in the area. Hopefully with the new nesting boxes and the rough grass area we may get some Barn Owls visiting Denbury.

Yes Elaine they were Deer on the Puppy cam earlier this evening. I had only a little while earlier drove down the valley, with the dogs chasing behind, so I was surprised that the come out so soon after.

Categories
webcams

It looks very much like we have got lucky with…

It looks very much like we have got lucky with weaning Willow. I haven’t seen her taking milk from Lady for about a week. I thought that it could have been that I have missed it. But on checking Lady’s udder tonight she looks pretty well dry. It could well be that it has been difficult for Willow to have got to the udder with Lady being rugged up. Horse rugs have leg straps that go between the Horses legs to stop them sliding about. We purposely left Ladies straps off so that Willow could get to the udder. I reckon the bother of going under the rug to get to the milk has stopped Willow from feeding from Lady. Willow tends to be with Bliss and Misty most of the time, so it could also be that she hasn’t bothered to go back to Lady for her feed.

It will be a blessing if Willow has weaned herself off of Lady. It will not be necessary for us to part them, which is always a very stressful time for both the Mare and Foal. We normally have to stable the Mares and put the Foals in a paddock on their own. Both continuously are calling for each other for as long as three weeks. Even then when you let the Mares out of the stable, they will look for the Foal in what ever field you turn them out in. On saying that Bliss and Misty were very good last year, it was only the Mares that were calling out.

I keep the Bird and Badger feed in an old chest freezer in a barn opposite the Farm House. I always tend to drop a bit of the feed on the floor, of course that encourages Rats. Every evening that I went in to the barn I heard the scuffling about of what I thought were Rats. If ever there was to much feed when I got a new delivery, I would put the bags that I could not get in to the freezer, over the bottom half of the stable door, in the hope that the Rats would not get to it. Of course nine times out of ten they did, causing the bags to spill some of their contents on the floor. A couple of days ago I saw some animal quickly dart in and out of the barn. I didn’t get a good view, as there was a machine that I had left outside the barn door, and the sun was also shining, making it difficult for me to see what ever it was properly. Of course I thought that it was a Rat. I was surprised, as I had baited the barn a few weeks before and their was still some of the poison were I had baited. This morning I saw the animal again coming out of the barn. Again I only got a quick glance, the shadows showing the shape rather than the colour. The shape was definitely that of a Stoat or Weasel. It could have had a home in the barn for a while, or had started using it for a food source of the poisoned dead Rats. If the latter is the reason for it being in the barn, it may well get secondary poisoning from eating the dead poisoned Rats.

The Badgers were not all feeding at the same time tonight. I only saw eight at one time. Four on one camera and four on the other. I am sure that they were all there over the evening. You know I can never remember when they start to be seen less. Badgers don’t hibernate, but they do tend to be a lot quieter late Autumn and Winter. The first year that we showed them on the cameras, there was a long spell of not seeing any at all for some weeks. Last year If I remember correctly, a few Badgers would feed over a long period most nights. It could well be that they are starting to quieten down. Although it could also be the fireworks, and every now and then the wind is a bit gusty.